Amy Medvick is the vocalist and flautist with Os Tropies, and an ethnomusicology grad student studying the Brazilian diaspora and its musical legacy. Her interests in culture, food and dress lie in Brazilian psychedelic rock (Tropicalia!), and she also referencedexotica, both as a musical and a fashion inspiration: saturated colours and patterns, floral prints and tropical influences.
I loved how she talked about fashion and style using the metaphor (and literal practice) of cooking--studying spices to analyze composite and complex tastes. We discussed politics, her ambivalence around shopping, and her love of the music and style of Brazilian superstar Ney Matogrosso, plus Liz Taylor in Cleopatra (1963), and of course Carmen Miranda and the Wilson sisters in Heart.
Please check out Os Tropies on their website, plus bandcamp, FB and twitter.